Elche Government Seeking Help for Taxi Drivers

The Elche municipal government has said that it will support the local taxi drivers in trying to find a solution to the problem of legal taxis from other areas taking work away from them, and the problem of illegal, pirate taxis.

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The councillor for urban mobility, Esther Díez, and the councillor for institutional representation, Mireia Mollà, will collectively ask the regional government for help in providing more inspections in the area. In addition, the government will seek to update the local laws relating to taxis, which they consider to be “outdated”.

In a recent survey it was revealed that there were 40 foreign, but legal taxi drivers per day using Alicante-Elche airport, compared with the 82 licensed in Elche. These are mainly from Torrevieja, Murcia and Cartagena, as are the illegal pirate taxis which have collectively resulted in a 40% drop in work for the Elche drivers.

A recent number plate reader has proven ineffective, according to the government, and so more drastic measures are called for.